:00:19. > :00:25.Hello. Welcome to BBC Points West. Our headlines this evening:
:00:25. > :00:30.Seeing the world through new eyes. The tiny camera which has given a
:00:30. > :00:40.blind man some of his sight back. An inquest reveals the moment
:00:40. > :00:43.
:00:43. > :00:48.Adrian Prout snapped and strangled his wife. Also tonight:
:00:48. > :00:52.It's decision day. Bristol votes on whether to elect a mayor.
:00:52. > :00:56.And Her Majesty's best moments. We delve through our archives to look
:00:56. > :01:01.back on all those royal visits. Good evening. First tonight, the
:01:01. > :01:08.medical marvel that's meant a blind man from Wiltshire is starting to
:01:08. > :01:14.get his vision back. In a UK first, Chris James has had a microchip
:01:14. > :01:18.implanted inside his eye, which acts like a tiny camera. Within 24
:01:18. > :01:24.hours of switch-on, Chris could make out areas of light and see
:01:24. > :01:26.shapes. In a moment, we'll be speaking to him from his home in
:01:26. > :01:30.Wroughton, but first, Scott Ellis reports.
:01:30. > :01:34.Blind for more than 10 years. But this electronic gadget inside Chris
:01:34. > :01:40.James' head means he's getting partial vision back. The implant is
:01:40. > :01:43.inside Chris's left eye. Inserted behind the retina by surgeons in
:01:43. > :01:50.Oxford. It's a 3mm-square microchip with 1500 light sensitive pixels,
:01:50. > :01:54.which send electronic signals to Chris's brain, allowing him to get
:01:55. > :02:04.some kind of vision back after years of darkness. Chris now has to
:02:05. > :02:08.
:02:08. > :02:16.train his brain to see again. able to make out the curvature at
:02:16. > :02:19.the bottom. His vision will always been black and white, but surgeons
:02:19. > :02:27.hope the definition will improve. Improving a blind person's quality
:02:27. > :02:32.of life. The ability to see a light and know where that light is coming
:02:32. > :02:37.from can make a significant certificate -- de France. They are
:02:37. > :02:45.able to go into a room, they know where the doorways, where the
:02:45. > :02:52.window was, or where it is light and day. This is a big step. Up to
:02:52. > :02:54.12 British patients will receive the implants. But it could help
:02:54. > :03:03.hundreds suffering, like Chris, with retinitis pigmentosa.
:03:03. > :03:07.And Chris James joins me now from his home in Wroughton. When you
:03:07. > :03:14.Openshaw rise a un saw light, what it due FE?
:03:15. > :03:20.I thought, the optic nerve is still working. Without that, or the
:03:20. > :03:24.surgery would have been for nothing. To have it working and sending
:03:24. > :03:28.something to the brain was just what we wanted. What can you see
:03:28. > :03:33.now? When I am connected to the battery pack, I can make out shapes,
:03:33. > :03:38.straight lines on squares, the Kurds on a plate. I can make out
:03:38. > :03:42.objects closer, but I cap Scott some ability training to do with
:03:43. > :03:48.regards to anything outdoors. lost your site 20 years ago. Before
:03:48. > :03:55.that, you had a perfect vision. It must have been an enormous shock.
:03:55. > :03:58.With the medics are able to offer you any hope? You always have to
:03:58. > :04:02.look on the bright side. By have always been convinced that one day
:04:02. > :04:08.it would be able to see again. But deteriorated quite slowly to start
:04:08. > :04:13.with. You manage to adjust. As you go through life as a blind person,
:04:13. > :04:17.you adapt. Did you ever think there might be a prospect of being able
:04:17. > :04:22.to see something? A I have always had that hope. It would be
:04:22. > :04:26.absolutely great to go down to that passion of motor racing. I would
:04:26. > :04:30.love to be able to distinguish a single-seater racing car from a
:04:30. > :04:35.sports car. Wouldn't that be marvellous. Is there any more
:04:35. > :04:39.treatment you can have always said -- was that it for the time being?
:04:39. > :04:46.This is it for the time being. I have got so Mobility training for
:04:46. > :04:49.the outdoors. I have still got to have some more tests and fine
:04:49. > :04:53.tuning in Oxford, where the operation was done. He must be
:04:54. > :05:00.thrilled and your family must be thrilled. That is right. I might be
:05:00. > :05:05.able to see my wife for the first time. Wouldn't that be wonderful.
:05:05. > :05:09.We wish you all the very best. A 22-year-old man who died
:05:09. > :05:17.following a pile up on the M5 near Tewkesbury has been named as Steven
:05:17. > :05:21.Cracknell. Two lorries, two vans and a car collided on Tuesday night.
:05:21. > :05:25.Mr Cracknell, who came from Batley in West Yorkshire, was a passenger
:05:25. > :05:28.in one of the vans. An inquest into the death of the
:05:28. > :05:32.murdered farmer's wife, Kate Prout, has been told her husband just
:05:32. > :05:37.snapped when he strangled her. Adrian Prout is serving 18 years in
:05:37. > :05:43.prison. At his trial, he denied killing her, but years later
:05:43. > :05:47.confessed he'd buried her body on their farm in Gloucestershire.
:05:47. > :05:49.Tonight, her family told us his apology has come far too late.
:05:49. > :05:52.Here's Steve Knibbs. Kate Prout simply disappeared from
:05:52. > :05:55.the Farmhouse she shared with her husband in Redmarley on Bonfire
:05:55. > :05:58.Night 2007. They had a tempestuous relationship and were about to
:05:58. > :06:01.divorce. Despite being convicted of her murder, Adrian Prout protested
:06:02. > :06:06.his innocence until, last November, he finally confessed and was
:06:06. > :06:09.brought back to Redhill Farm to show police where he'd buried his
:06:09. > :06:13.wife. And that brings to today, the inquest into Kate Prout's death.
:06:13. > :06:18.Its aims, amongst other things, is to establish how she died.
:06:18. > :06:22.Something that hasn't been revealed until today. The coroner was told
:06:22. > :06:26.that in his confession, Adrian Prout told police he was arguing
:06:26. > :06:29.with his wife when he just snapped and thrust his hand into her neck
:06:29. > :06:33.and squeezed. She didn't struggle and fell to the ground. Realising
:06:33. > :06:37.he'd killed her, he wrapped her body in a curtain and plastic sheet
:06:37. > :06:41.and put it in his car. He went to the pub that evening to appear
:06:41. > :06:51.normal, but later returned and buried his wife in woods on his
:06:51. > :06:52.
:06:52. > :06:56.farm estate. When he took us to the site, he was very tearful, very
:06:56. > :07:01.remorseful and he did actually apologised to the family and
:07:01. > :07:07.friends, saying that he knows now that he should have told them right
:07:07. > :07:11.from the start. Obviously, now he can reflect on what he has done in
:07:11. > :07:14.are the 18 year prison sentence he has received. In their only
:07:14. > :07:21.interview today, Kate Prout's family told me that his remorse was
:07:21. > :07:26.too little too late. I am glad he did confess, but it has taken him
:07:26. > :07:31.four years. We have lost our daughter forever. He is locked up
:07:32. > :07:37.for 18 years. It took a long time for him to come forward. It has
:07:37. > :07:39.caused the family a lot of stress. It has affected all of us.
:07:39. > :07:43.With the investigation into Kate Prout's murder now complete, her
:07:43. > :07:48.family say they'll now concentrate on plans for a memorial service to
:07:48. > :07:51.celebrate her life. Putting behind them the focus on her death.
:07:51. > :07:54.Well, it should be the busiest time of the day at polling stations
:07:54. > :07:59.across the West. We've got local elections taking place in
:07:59. > :08:02.Cheltenham, Gloucester, Stroud and Swindon. In Bristol, people aren't
:08:02. > :08:07.choosing councillors, but deciding if they want to get an elected
:08:07. > :08:16.mayor. Let's join our Political Editor Paul Barltrop, who's at a
:08:16. > :08:22.sports centre in Bristol. Paul, any sign of voters there?
:08:22. > :08:26.I can tell you, there is just one voter in the right now. This is one
:08:26. > :08:32.of 157 polling stations and it is pretty quiet. They say they have
:08:32. > :08:36.been a trickle of voters coming in today. 2000 people are able to vote.
:08:36. > :08:41.But the figures that we had a few minutes ago was that they have had
:08:41. > :08:43.about 15% of people actually come to cast their vote so far. One
:08:43. > :08:51.encouraging sign for the city councillors that about two-thirds
:08:51. > :08:55.of postal votes are in. Overall, turnout is not looking good.
:08:55. > :09:00.party activists at the doors of the Bristol polling stations. Can you
:09:00. > :09:03.remind us where that is. It is an interesting point. This is not a
:09:03. > :09:08.political event. The parties haven't taken a distinct line on
:09:08. > :09:11.whether they should or should not be a mayor and have gone off to
:09:11. > :09:18.other places. Some of these activists I have gone over to
:09:18. > :09:24.Swindon. Council election there. They are busy. There has been quite
:09:24. > :09:27.a lot of politics going on today. When will we get the results?
:09:27. > :09:32.the mayor will count in Bristol, it will be tomorrow. There will put
:09:32. > :09:39.all the papers away overnight, or the papers will be put away and
:09:39. > :09:41.counted. Stroud, similarly, are holding it for a day until tomorrow,
:09:41. > :09:47.but the three bands we will be watching tonight will be chopped
:09:47. > :09:51.and, -- Cheltenham, Gloucester and Swindon. That will be a really
:09:51. > :09:56.interesting contest. We will be reporting life after 11:30pm this
:09:56. > :10:00.evening. We will also have a small preview at 10:25pm.
:10:00. > :10:03.And I'll be here with the team to bring you the latest election news
:10:03. > :10:05.through until the early hours. And tomorrow morning, there will be
:10:05. > :10:10.reaction and analysis on our Breakfast bulletins. BBC local
:10:10. > :10:13.radio and online services will also keep you up to date.
:10:13. > :10:20.It's your regional news programme, BBC Points West, and it's nearly
:10:20. > :10:21.another Bank Holiday weekend. Stay with us as there's much more
:10:21. > :10:25.still to bring you tonight. Including:
:10:25. > :10:32.Taking risks. We catch on camera the motorists ignoring signs for
:10:32. > :10:37.flooded roads. And we are not expecting any more heavy rain in
:10:37. > :10:44.the future, but gardeners be wet, we will see some frost returning
:10:44. > :10:47.over the weekend. Thousands of staff at GCHQ in
:10:47. > :10:52.Cheltenham have been taking in the news today that their former
:10:52. > :10:54.colleague, Gareth Williams, was probably unlawfully killed. Mr
:10:54. > :10:59.Williams, a brilliant mathematician, was found inside a padlocked hold-
:10:59. > :11:02.all at his London flat. MI6 came in for some serious criticism from the
:11:02. > :11:12.coroner, raising questions about how the Secret Service treats its
:11:12. > :11:15.
:11:15. > :11:18.employees. Here's Will Glennon. The closely guarded a work of
:11:18. > :11:22.Cheltenham's GCHQ has attracted interest across the world today
:11:22. > :11:27.thanks to the mysterious death of Gareth Williams. His former
:11:27. > :11:32.colleagues are likely to be feeling the pressure of their secret lives.
:11:32. > :11:36.When something like this happens, which throws a spotlight on the
:11:36. > :11:39.organisation and on the people who work there, I know those are the
:11:39. > :11:43.times were that makes people a lot more and comfortable and anxious
:11:43. > :11:47.because something that has happened that has placed them in the public
:11:47. > :11:51.eye and they are not able to talk about it very easily. That can be
:11:51. > :11:57.quite stressful. Gareth Williams was keen to finish his secondment
:11:57. > :12:03.and get back to Cheltenham. He lived happily just a few miles from
:12:03. > :12:07.the GCHQ. He was a Crypto analyst, a code-breaker, and his work had
:12:07. > :12:12.won awards and had been described as the world class. It may have
:12:12. > :12:14.attracted the wrong attention. is possible some foreign
:12:15. > :12:20.intelligence agency could be involved. It could have got
:12:20. > :12:24.involved in some black mayor a situation or something like that. -
:12:24. > :12:28.- black mayor. Reasonably and lightly, but we have to look at
:12:28. > :12:32.that as a possibility. Or they could have been some bizarre
:12:32. > :12:36.personal accident. His body was found padlocked inside a sports bag
:12:36. > :12:41.in the bath of his London flat. It took one week for his colleagues to
:12:41. > :12:45.report him missing. Even though he had never had a day off work sick.
:12:45. > :12:51.Senior intelligence officers said they were profoundly sorry for the
:12:51. > :12:55.delay. Police are now refocusing their investigation. Was it his
:12:56. > :13:02.private life or was it his secret work? These are questions we may
:13:02. > :13:09.never answer. GCHQ will say nothing. And the mystery of Gareth
:13:09. > :13:14.Williams's death remains just that. Drivers in Somerset are being urged
:13:14. > :13:19.to take notice of road closure signs and not just dry around them.
:13:19. > :13:22.Many country lanes are still under water after the recent heavy rain
:13:22. > :13:32.and when the main road which is still treacherous is the route
:13:32. > :13:39.
:13:39. > :13:42.It is not worth risking yet. Better to get home. It was the question
:13:42. > :13:50.motorists all over Somerset were asking themselves today, have to
:13:50. > :13:57.risk it or not to have us get to? The flooding is significant this
:13:57. > :14:00.time. The fields on either side of this road a pretty much follow up
:14:00. > :14:10.with water at the moment. And that is exactly how they should be at a
:14:10. > :14:12.
:14:12. > :14:18.time like this. -- fill up. Before it can be drained away, anything
:14:18. > :14:23.between six and eight feet of water is at the edge of the road, and
:14:23. > :14:28.that is why ignoring the signs here is particularly dangerous.
:14:28. > :14:38.could quite easily lose track of way Wharfe. The ditches are full of
:14:38. > :14:45.
:14:45. > :14:48.water. -- lose track of where you laugh. -- are. Today, some people
:14:49. > :14:57.were willing to take the risk, moving the barriers only be council
:14:57. > :15:04.workers to put them back in place later. For others, and lengthy -- a
:15:04. > :15:14.lengthy way around was the only thing to do. It is a bit of a
:15:14. > :15:20.detour, nothing major, but an ink obedience. But as the weather. --
:15:20. > :15:24.and inconvenience. That is the weather.
:15:24. > :15:33.Six beaches in Somerset have been recommended in this year's Good
:15:33. > :15:41.Beach Guide. But conservation -- conservationists have issued a
:15:41. > :15:46.warning over safety concerns about the quality of the water.
:15:46. > :15:49.A new report says a Wiltshire prison which used to be known for
:15:50. > :15:56.poor security and escapes has been transformed into one of the best
:15:56. > :16:01.jails in the country. Erlestoke Prison has 500 prisoners, including
:16:01. > :16:04.nearly 100 inmates serving life sentences. One offender has been
:16:04. > :16:12.telling Our Home Affairs Correspondent about his life behind
:16:12. > :16:16.bars. The punishment is our incarceration. That would apply in
:16:16. > :16:20.any prison. I would also say the people that are really think suffer
:16:20. > :16:28.from that is not the individual prisoners but the families. We are
:16:28. > :16:33.away from them which has as hard for them as it is fast. -- which is.
:16:33. > :16:36.Martin will soon be near the end of his sentence and will be going home.
:16:36. > :16:41.His prospects for getting a job when he is out of slightly better
:16:41. > :16:51.because he has completed one of the many courses here at Erlestoke
:16:51. > :16:51.
:16:51. > :16:56.Prison. Long sentence prisoners normally stop them longer down
:16:56. > :16:59.there sentence. -- start of the courses. The course looks at
:16:59. > :17:02.reasons why people offend, some intervention work, and then we
:17:02. > :17:08.measure that all the way through the rest of their Fenton's. The
:17:08. > :17:16.course does not fix people, it helps people have the motivation to
:17:16. > :17:24.fix themselves. Our role is to reduce the risks of them
:17:24. > :17:34.reoffending. Erlestoke Prison has nearly 500 prisoners in all,
:17:34. > :17:48.
:17:48. > :17:58.including 92 wool. -- 92 serving life sentences. Since lion has come
:17:58. > :18:06.in, he has been very effective -- since the stock has come M -- this
:18:06. > :18:12.dog. They have been fears that staff are spread too thinly. It is
:18:12. > :18:14.a claim rejected by the Governor himself. It is different, and I
:18:14. > :18:20.think staff and prisoners are used to having one governor walking
:18:20. > :18:24.around and looking after them. But the world has changed as well.
:18:24. > :18:28.Public sector savings are required and running two establishment is
:18:28. > :18:35.the way we have managed to save around �700,000 in the last
:18:35. > :18:40.financial year. Sitting in the play area, Martin says he has learned
:18:40. > :18:43.from his time inside. Erlestoke Prison has certainly helped me on a
:18:43. > :18:50.rehabilitation level, and also it has helped me to understand myself
:18:50. > :18:55.better. That has led to me hopefully being a better person.
:18:55. > :19:00.This is the jewel in the crown. A new �12 million unit opened last
:19:00. > :19:05.year. The rest of the prison is 50 years old, and in the present
:19:06. > :19:14.economic climate, it is unlikely to be rebuilt any time soon. But at
:19:14. > :19:18.least its reputation is firmly on The chairman of Bristol City has
:19:18. > :19:21.announced he's stepping down at the end of the month. Colin Sexstone
:19:21. > :19:24.joined City 11 years ago during which time the club was promoted to
:19:24. > :19:29.the championship and reached the play off final at Wembley. He's
:19:29. > :19:32.replaced by director Keith Dawe. Colin Sexstone says the delays to
:19:32. > :19:42.plans for a new stadium for the club have been his biggest
:19:42. > :19:42.
:19:42. > :19:46.frustration during his time with Bristol City. It has been a massive
:19:46. > :19:51.disappointment. A huge debate urban project that has been held up by a
:19:51. > :20:01.very small group of people mainly from outside the area, who have it
:20:01. > :20:03.used the system. Opponents of the scheme say they have every right to
:20:03. > :20:07.challenge the project. A judicial review into aspects of the
:20:07. > :20:10.development process will be held in June.
:20:10. > :20:14.The West Indies batsman Chris gail - Chris Gayle won't be playing
:20:14. > :20:17.cricket for Somerset during their Twenty20 campaign this summer. The
:20:17. > :20:20.former West Indies captain is one of the most exciting batsmen in the
:20:20. > :20:23.world, but he has now ended his year long dispute with the West
:20:23. > :20:30.Indies cricket board and has written to Somerset saying he won't
:20:30. > :20:36.be joining them. This morning, Somerset confirmed they have signed
:20:36. > :20:39.South African batsman Francois du Plessis as a replacement.
:20:39. > :20:46.If you've been watching this week it won't have escaped your
:20:46. > :20:49.attention that the Queen has been here this week on her Jubilee tour.
:20:49. > :20:57.To mark the special occasion, we've made a documentary looking back at
:20:57. > :21:05.all the Queen's visits over the years. From the very first
:21:05. > :21:12.Coronation Street, are cameras have been there to see how you
:21:12. > :21:20.celebrated -- Coronation Street parties. I had high heeled shoes on,
:21:20. > :21:23.which I didn't get on very well, I remember that! One of the first
:21:23. > :21:28.time as the Queen came to the region herself was to play a part
:21:28. > :21:35.in the technological revolution, making the first automatically
:21:35. > :21:41.connected long-distance phone call. This is the Queen speaking from
:21:41. > :21:48.Bristol. Good afternoon. Good afternoon, Your Majesty. In a few
:21:48. > :21:53.moments, Bristol subscribers will be able to make phone calls up to a
:21:53. > :21:57.distance of some 300 miles. Over the years, it has been you and your
:21:57. > :22:01.stories that have brought her visit to life. Like Jean from Bedminster
:22:02. > :22:07.he was determined to make herself a special costume for the Silver
:22:07. > :22:12.Jubilee. It is now a museum centrepiece. When we were talking
:22:12. > :22:21.about having this party, I thought, what can we do as regards to
:22:21. > :22:26.dressing up? I got my sewing machine out, and off I went. The
:22:26. > :22:33.kerbstones were painted red, white and blue. The council wasn't very
:22:33. > :22:39.happy. Nobody owned up to doing it. There is still some there today!
:22:40. > :22:49.And what does Dean think about the dress being in a museum now? --
:22:50. > :22:50.
:22:50. > :22:59.Jean? Smashing. My husband thinks I ought to going with it! In 1990,
:22:59. > :23:05.the Queen reopened the newly restored canal. The atmosphere was
:23:05. > :23:13.fantastic. There was people everywhere. People of the telegraph
:23:13. > :23:20.poles come up trees, they were in every location -- people up the
:23:20. > :23:26.telegraph poles, up trees. patron of the Royal West of England
:23:26. > :23:34.Academy, the Queen visited in 1999 and saw new projects to introduce
:23:34. > :23:41.children to art. Bristol actress Kim and her son remember how
:23:41. > :23:51.thrilled she was. It was a theme about nature, so we were filming
:23:51. > :23:52.
:23:52. > :24:02.the Forest. I was making crone noises, and she walked past and
:24:02. > :24:07.
:24:07. > :24:14.asked what the noise was! -- crow. She smiled and she laughed, it was
:24:14. > :24:18.lovely. Also on Sunday afternoon's documentary, I go behind the scenes
:24:18. > :24:21.to reveal how the organisers code with this week's will visit to
:24:21. > :24:27.Yeovil after discovering the display area had been flooded
:24:27. > :24:35.within hours of her arrival. That and a wonderful it back into a film
:24:35. > :24:38.books. Were you in the crowd? See yourself again on Sunday. And the
:24:38. > :24:47.documentary, The Queen And I, goes out at 4:15pm on Sunday afternoon
:24:47. > :24:52.on BBC One. It has been a really enjoyable week. I look forward to
:24:52. > :24:59.that on Sunday. Now, bank holiday, it is around the corner. What is
:25:00. > :25:04.the weather looking like? I am slightly frightened to see. I know.
:25:04. > :25:08.On a positive note, it is looking dry for the bank holiday weekend.
:25:08. > :25:17.It will be turning cooler, however, and there is the threat of some
:25:17. > :25:27.frost returning on Saturday night into Sunday. Tomorrow, it is a
:25:27. > :25:33.
:25:33. > :25:41.mostly cloudy story. There will be some light of rain about. Tomorrow,
:25:41. > :25:51.there will be less rain in the afternoon. Still some heavy showers
:25:51. > :25:54.
:25:54. > :25:58.in part of the Midlands. By tomorrow morning, parts of
:25:58. > :26:07.Gloucestershire a rather grey and damp and some light showers perhaps
:26:07. > :26:15.further southwards. If we take this tour up into Gloucestershire, you
:26:15. > :26:20.can see that seven or eight sin -- degrees will be the story. Tomorrow,
:26:20. > :26:26.it will start on a damp and rather drizzly note up in Northern
:26:26. > :26:32.Districts. Then it tends to peter out. There will be a good deal of
:26:32. > :26:39.cloud around. The best of many brightness will be true Bridgwater
:26:39. > :26:44.Bay and out into some parts of West Somerset. Still the chance
:26:44. > :26:48.overnight that will start to see some further light rain, but that
:26:48. > :26:54.is a story into the future. Temperatures tomorrow, we should be
:26:54. > :26:58.seeing 10-12 Celsius. A little bit lower in parts of Gloucestershire
:26:58. > :27:08.and whether cloud is likely to be lingering through the course of the
:27:08. > :27:20.